Pipe Dreams

Lately I've been pining for the Midwest. Boston has given my fiance and I a bit of a beating recently, and the thought of running into the safe and certain (albeit boring) depths of suburban Nebraska is appealing. I'd never make it in New York.

I'm probably being slightly over-dramatic, but we've had a few shake ups.

For starters, our landlord informed us at the end of January that he'd decided to sell our place. That's never good news. Saying that we love our apartment is an understatement, and we moved in fully expecting to live here until SO completed his PhD. Now it's back to scouring Craigslist for a decent place, which is much more difficult this time around. Rents in this already costly city have increased  in the 18 months we've inhabited our current place, and most of the listings online are glorified crack dens.

Two weeks after we learned we're being kicked out of house and home, SO learned that the president's 2013 Budget Proposal completely zeros out his PhD research project. What that means for us is TBD. What it means for the future of domestic innovation is far more disconcerting.

The proposed funding cuts are by far the biggest blow. They say bad things happen in threes, though, so I'm waiting for the locusts.

I'm also trying to figure out how to make the most of my situation. I'm ready to move in a new direction with my career and have had some promising leads, but nothing has materialized. The process in itself is exhausting.

And here ends my vague tale of woe.

It all makes me want to tuck my tail and run back to carve out a life in a city that's easier to navigate (and that's closer to our families). But we're not the types to give up so easily, so we'll continue to crack at this hard nut known as Boston.

On a positive note:

• I'm paying down my credit card debt like a mo' fo.' Actually, as I'm being kicked out my home, I'm looking to sell myself out of it, too. I'm debating whether or not to sell some high ticket items, but that's a topic for another day.
• I'm looking to become certified in either Zumba or Turbokick in the next couple of months. I've only been wanting to accomplish this for about five years now, so the prospect is pretty exciting. 
• My former roommate from Richmond is coming up to visit next weekend. CANNOT wait.
• I should *probably* start planning our wedding. It'll be a nice distraction from the agony that is work.

Happy Saturday. Don't forget to flip your clocks forward tonight.
I have no clue how I'm going to peel myself out of bed come Monday morning.